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For Loren Vinal, the holidays have always carried a gentle kind of magic. Loren's hometown of Corning, New York, and his winters on Jekyll Island, Georgia, offered two peaceful places where music and community shaped his daily life.
In late 2017, everything changed. After months of worsening shortness of breath and repeated misdiagnoses, Loren — a guitarist with 40 years of experience — flew to Nashville, Tennessee, to play a show with a friend. Loren ended up in the emergency department before he could play — diagnosed with advanced heart failure. He remembers the shock of that moment.
"Out of the blue, my life completely shifted," Loren says.
After receiving that diagnosis, Loren spent 13 days in the hospital in Nashville. Once stable, he returned to upstate New York and continued care at a local hospital where specialists determined he needed a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). The LVAD is a mechanical pump that supports the heart by helping the left ventricle circulate blood throughout the body.
After about seven years with the LVAD, new complications in 2024 meant it was time to revisit transplant. By then, Loren already knew about Mayo Clinic in Florida. Years earlier, he had been transferred there from a nearby hospital while wintering on Jekyll Island because smaller hospitals were not equipped to manage patients with the LVAD.
Loren never forgot the care he received then.
"I was so impressed with the dedication and professionalism at Mayo Clinic," Loren says.
When he learned he was a strong candidate for heart transplant, he says the decision to pursue care at Mayo Clinic felt right.
Heart transplant
Loren received his first heart transplant on July 1, 2024. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, Loren would need another new heart, and he was relisted on the transplant waiting list in May 2025. He spent nine and a half weeks waiting in the hospital before receiving his second heart transplant on July 19, 2025.
Waiting was difficult, but he felt supported at every turn. Today, Loren shares that he exercises and plays music again — feeling stronger with each passing day.
"A good working heart changes everything," Loren says.
Loren speaks openly about the gratitude he feels toward his donors who gave him the incredible gift of life. "It is the greatest gift you can bestow on another human," he says.
Throughout his journey, Loren learned more about the scope of Mayo Clinic's commitment to transplantation. As one of the largest and most comprehensive transplant programs in the world, Mayo Clinic Transplant Center provides seamless care across heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas and bone marrow transplantation for both adults and children.
The transplant center teams in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota work together to advance innovation, research and education, shaping the future of transplantation worldwide.
Mayo Clinic also leads research in organ preservation, living donation and regenerative medicine, guided by a vision that no patient should die while waiting for a transplant. These advances have helped expand access for patients with complex needs and support successful outcomes like Loren's.
"Loren showed extraordinary resilience," says Dr. Daniel Yip, transplant cardiologist at Mayo Clinic in Florida. "Even in the face of profound challenges, he remained engaged and hopeful. Our team was committed to walking every step of this with him."
As Loren looks toward the new year with a new heart, he feels a deeper joy in the moments he once took for granted: a strong, steady heartbeat; music returning to his fingertips; and time with the people he loves.
"I sincerely thank everyone involved, and I hope to continue to pay it forward," Loren says.
His story now carries its own quiet holiday light — hope renewed, life restored and gratitude that stretches far beyond the season.
